Elected officials on Wednesday asked State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and the attorney general to open separate reviews into aspects of the selection process leading up to SUNY’s sale of Long Island College Hospital to Fortis Property Group.

In a letter to DiNapoli, the politicians asked the comptroller to review the final bid and contracts for LICH and conduct a review of the selection process. The officials included State senator Daniel Squadron, Assembly Member Joan Millman and City Council members Brad Lander, Stephen Levin and Carlos Menchaca.

The officials noted that “considerable concern has been raised about the impartiality of the RFP’s scoring and the transparency of the subsequent negotiations between SUNY and RFP respondents.”

In particular, the politicians noted that Fortis was not the highest ranked bidder and that negotiations with Fortis occurred only because SUNY exited the discussions with the first and second-ranked bidders.

Last month, SUNY struck a $240 million deal with Fortis to turn the site into a luxury condominium development with limited medical facilities and a freestanding emergency facility to be operated by NYU Langone Medical Center and Lutheran Medical Center.

The officials also asked the Charities Bureau of the Attorney General’s office to investigate the use and disposition of an endowment left to LICH by Donald and Mildred Othmer before the court grants the sale approval.

Last year, Supreme Court Justice Carolyn Demarest ordered that LICH and SUNY restore funds that hospital administrators tapped from the endowment, the Brooklyn Eagle reported. According to the letter from the politicians, LICH was meant to hold the Othmer Fund in perpetuity and use income from the endowment for general purposes or for the construction or acquisition of a building named after the Othmers. — Tom DiChristopher

Lets stop the desperation news reporting. The NYS Comptroller is not going to look into this. A Judge ruled it was legal. The AG is looking into what has gone on by the LICH activist. LICH is sold and done. NYS has to pick up this LICH short sale and pay out of tax payers pockets the 500 million debt minus Fortis $240 million. Want a story ask why LICH activist cost taxpayers about $275 million they have to pick up after this sale.

smeyer418

a letter won’t stop this. The lawsuits continue however. LICH was once considered critical. Medicine and how its delivered changes. The governor has all the power on this and has concluded it has to go.

H Mansfield

Just LET IT GO already. The courts have made their ruling. In big stakes real estate, things don’t always go the way you wanted them to. At the end of the day, the outcome needs to be accepted, especially when the courts have ruled. The medical component agreed to will serve the community fine.